Intimate Destination Wedding: Santorini Elopement with Family

Elyce and Paul’s intimate destination wedding was a beautiful and intimate day located in an equally beautiful location! The couple traveled to Santorini, Greece to celebrate their wedding with family; something that they valued and prioritized above everything else on their wedding day.

How Elyce & Paul Planned Their Santorini Intimate Destination Wedding

Wedding days are always momentous occasions, but to Elyce and Paul, their wedding day was especially important because it would serve as a family reunion, vacation, and wedding all in one. Elyce had not had a family holiday since she was 10 years old so their wedding was a very special time for everyone and they wanted to be sure that they chose a location that would be memorable for the whole family.

Traveling from Australia, the couple planned a 6-week vacation and tour around Europe that ended with their Santorini elopement in Greece. There, they met up with their families to vacation, party, and celebrate their wedding.

Tips on how to Plan An Intimate Destination Wedding

Hire Skilled Vendors

Whether you are eloping with family or want to elope just the two of you, there is a lot that goes into planning a destination wedding. My biggest tip to couples who want a destination elopement is to hire vendors who really know their craft. For a photographer, this would be someone who not only knows how to take pretty pictures, but who is also well versed in travel and navigating different cities, like this dude right here!! Even if they have not been to the exact location where you are looking to elope, having the know-how to navigate cities and travel will be invaluable to you on your wedding day.

Find a Local Wedding Planner

It can also be super helpful to hire a local wedding planner who knows the area and can easily recommend and communicate with other wedding vendors in the area. Having someone who speaks the language or can communicate within the same time zone as other vendors can be hugely beneficial in helping reduce any additional wedding planning stress that can arise with planning a destination wedding.

Write Down Your Wedding Vision Together

Lastly, and this is one of the most important tips, write down important aspects of your wedding day that you both care about. Think through what you want your day to look like and what you want to include. After all, this day is about both of you and should include things that are meaningful to you both.

Eloping with Family in Santorini, Greece

Elyce and Paul’s wedding day was focused on their families coming together. The couple wanted to include a few traditional elements in their day but did not place too much emphasis on details. They each got ready at separate Airbnbs surrounded by family and met up around sunset time at their venue, Andromeda Villas, for their intimate ceremony.

Their day was very much a go with the flow type of day with a few important elements including Elyce's dad walking her down the aisle, family formals, and a reception dinner with the family complete with dancing and speeches.

One of the most memorable moments from the day happened during the wedding ceremony and it really emphasized just how down-to-earth and laid back Elyce and Paul were on their wedding day. During the ceremony, there was a little language barrier between the officiant and everyone there so the officiant did not realize that Elyce and Paul intended to read vows to each other during the ceremony. After he completed the ceremony, he announced them married and signed the paperwork with them completely skipping over the vows. Elyce and Paul had a good laugh about it and ended up creating a beautiful moment by deciding to read the vows in a second “ceremony” after the officiant took off surrounded by just their family. Their vows were so sweet and made everyone cry (including me.) It was as if they had two ceremonies, one traditional and another that was true to them. It was a fun and beautiful moment that shows how easy going these two were - and also shows how easy-going intimate destination weddings are!! Even if something didn’t work out exactly how they wished they figured it out on the spot and made the best of it.

Sunset Portraits off the Coast of Santorini

After the ceremony, the couple and I hiked down to a spot for some sunset photos - because you can't miss the sunset in Santorini - and when we were done, Elyce and Paul joined their family for dinner and speeches plus a little impromptu dancing. Everyone was so happy throughout the day and thoroughly enjoyed simply being together and celebrating Elyce and Paul’s love. The day honestly couldn't have been any smoother.

This beautiful Santorini elopement was featured on Wandering Weddings.

To see more from Elyce and Paul’s day and read some of my top destination elopement tips on Planning a Destination Wedding in Santorini, click here.

Kind Words from Elyce & Paul

From our very first encounter with Will via video chat, we knew we had found our photographer. We just had this instant connection and this genuine feeling that he really wanted to be a part of our special day in Santorini.
Will created such an amazing experience for us on the day. His professionalism, genuine nature, and talent are what made the day what it was.
If you want a photographer who is not only talented but is creative, incredibly passionate, professional, and genuinely cares, then choose Will.

Thank you Elyce and Paul for all your trust throughout the planning process and on your wedding day. I’m so honored to have been there to capture this beautiful day and special time with your family! Cheers!

Are You Ready to Start Planning Your Intimate Destination Wedding?

Get in touch

Santorini Intimate Destination Wedding Vendors

Photography | Will Khoury

HMU | @blisque salon & @hairbynikolettaa

Dress | Grace Loves Lace // BHLDN

Rentals | Weddings Whimsy Santorini

Coordinator/ Planning | Ever After Days

Venue | Andromeda Villas

Handmade Jewelry | Megan Moss

Flowers | Red Box Days

For Photographers

Editing:

This elopement was edited using WKpresets from start to finish. WKpresets are designed to work in every situation you can think of so that you’re not going back and forth between different looks, lots of options to edit from, and mainly, to finish your editing as quickly as possible.

If you enjoy the look of these photos and would like to have the same tones and editing style on your photos, check out WKpresets

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